Shock blitz puts Next on Taiwan's political agenda

TAIPEI: Upon hearing that the launch issue of the local edition of Next Magazine would include a story about her private life, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's daughter, Chen Hsin-shu, held an impromtu press conference at the Taipei hospital where she works. When the scene was aired that same day on the evening news, Chen was seen pacing back and forth, uttering again and again the Mandarin phrase "goudzaidwei" - "paparazzi" in English. That term is on everyone's lips thanks to a controversial campaign for the magazine by Saatchi & Saatchi Taiwan. "In six days, the advertising has become a major topic of conversation," said Saatchi Taiwan CEO Neil Hardwick. "There have already been five press conferences by politicians and celebrities responding to the advertising, before the magazine even launched." The theme of the campaign is that no one is too high or mighty to escape the scrutiny of this new style of journalism. This includes one execution in which a politician turns into a pig after he washes his face. The campaign has resulted in Next's entire print run of 300,000 copies selling out in eight hours, according to the magazine's publisher. If it maintains that level it will be Taiwan's largest magazine. Local circulation-leader Reader's Digest sells around 200,000 copies, with China Times Weekly, TVBS Weekly and Scoop at around 80,000.

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